Louis Riddick: 'There's no reason for the Bucs not to be better than last year'

After being a surefire pick to reach the playoffs last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unfortunately finished 5-11 in one of the worst seasons they’ve had. As a result, the Bucs spent the entire offseason loading the team’s roster up with multiple weapons at nearly every position to ensure they avoid another losing season this time around.

So, there really is no reason why Jameis Winston and Co. should finish with another brutal record and not reach the playoffs this year. At least, that’s what ESPN’s Louis Riddick seems to think. During Friday’s NFL Live segment, Riddick said the Bucs should absolutely be better than they were last year without question. He provided the following reasons why in his analysis of the 2018 Bucs:

“You know that DeSean is a downfield threat,” Riddick emphasized. “Mike Evans is as good of a receiver as there is in the league. And they have weapons at tight end. There is no reason for the Bucs not to be better than they were last year. It is one of those things that you cannot put your finger on one thing. Just all of them collectively and they better raise their game.”

The Buccaneers thoroughly addressed their greatest concern this offseason – which was their struggling defense – by adding Jason Pierre-Paul, Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, Mitch Unrein, Vita Vea and a handful of other studs to the roster in preparation for the season. Aside from that, the Bucs also addressed the secondary and running back position when they added M.J. Stewart, Carlton Davis, Ronald Jones III and more talented rookies through the draft.

Fortunately, the Bucs were able to address every need in the draft and free agency which should pay off when they return to the fall in their quest to the playoffs and their effort to end their 10-year playoff drought this year. All the weapons and necessities are there, so at this point, it all comes down to execution.

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